Spirits and Shadows
by Architect-of-the-clouds
Summary: Chihiro goes back to the spirit world with some friends, but where's Haku?
1. I

Summary: Chihiro and her friends make it back to the spirit world. Kinda hard to summarize without giving anything away. I'll work on my summary skills.

Disclaimer: I do not own Spirited Away. If I did own it I certainly would not be writing a fanfic about it, I would be creating a REAL sequel.

Author's note: This story is dedicated to my best friend. (you know who you are)

This is my first fanfic, so please review. No flamers please, my feelings will get hurt. Constructive criticism is always welcome.

Spirits and Shadows, Chapter 1: A prologue designed to drive you insane 

"This is it, Haku! You've been nothing but a thorn in my side since Sen left. Good riddance!"

Haku smiled as his ears were treated to the sound of paper being shredded, and then his eyes graced with the sight of his contract floating to the ground in tiny bits. Finally, after 6 months of pleading, begging, and threatening he was free!

"Now get out of here." Yubaba growled. Haku looked just too happy and it was making her ill.

"Certainly, Yubaba. Nothing would please me more." Haku replied, fighting the urge to jump up and down with glee. Not only would Yubaba probably turn him into a pig, it wasn't very spirit-like. He turned to leave.

"Oh, and Haku?"

Haku slowly turned around. 'Damn,' he thought to himself, 'I was almost to the door.' "Yes Yubaba?" Haku answered wearily.

"Don't look so down boy. All I wanted to do was wish you luck in finding Sen." Yubaba grinned. The look on the boy's face almost made up for the pain of saying those horridly nice words. If she kept this up people would start mistaking her for Zeniba, which would probably be one of the signs of the apocalypse.

"I, uh. Um, well, thank you." Haku didn't believe his ears. What happened to Yubaba? Haku turned to leave again, and this time made it through the door. Taking the elevator down to the servant's quarters, Haku thought about Chihiro. Even through the days he thought he would never be free of Yubaba and his hated apprenticeship, something had kept him going and now he would be able to keep his promise after all. Turning a corner in one of the bathhouse's back hallways, he bumped into Rin, causing her to fall to the floor.

"Rin!" Haku exclaimed, for this was one of the few times he was glad to see the caustic girl. "I've been looking for you!"

"Funny," Rin replied, rubbing her butt as she got up. "I was under the impression that you weren't looking. Jeeze, you're as klutzy as Sen was." Rin immediately looked sorry, because mentioning Sen was guaranteed to put Haku in a bad mood. "I'm sorry Haku, I know you miss Sen…"

"But that's why I wanted to see you. I'm free, Yubaba ripped up my contract! I'm going to see Chihiro right away, I'm leaving tonight!"

"WHAT!!! That's WONDERFUL! Sen is going to be so happy to see you." Rin smiled, imaging just how happy Sen will be. Haku was practically glowing at the prospect. "I never thought I'd be saying this, but I'll miss you Haku. The bathhouse will not be the same without you."

"You mean there won't be any bleeding dragons flying through the windows anymore."

"I was trying to pay you a complement, you dope. But now that you mention it, yeah. Maybe I'll be able to sleep in for once."

Haku chuckled. He was going to miss this place, surprisingly enough. "Hey, I almost forgot!" Haku held out a piece of gold to Rin. "This is for you. I wanted to thank you for all that you've done for me and Chihiro. You can pay Yubaba for your contract, even buy a train ticket if you want."

Rin stared at Haku, stunned. "I, I don't know what to say." Rin stated, for once in her life speechless. "Thank you Haku. I suppose Sen was right about you all along." She pocketed the gold. "Are you leaving now?"

"No, I have to say goodbye to Kamajii first. Goodbye Rin." Haku bowed politely to her and made his way to the boiler room.

"Bye." Rin called after him, still feeling slightly lightheaded. 'I hope he finds Sen all right.' She thought to herself as she walked away to clean the guest rooms.

"Kamajii! Yubaba tore up my contract and I'm going to see Chihiro!" Was the first thing out of Haku's mouth as he entered the boiler room, startling the spider spirit into dropping the herbs he was about to put in his grinding bowl.

"Chih-Oh, you mean Sen!" Kamajii said, one hand cleaning up the herbs he spilt while the others worked the boiler room machinery. "Good. It's about time you got out of here."

"Kamajii, I'd like you to have this. It's payment for the ticket you gave to Chihiro." Haku held out another piece of gold.

"No, those tickets were a gift. I was never going to use them anyway, I'm too old to find another place to work. You keep that, you never know what might happen. And when you see Chihiro, tell her I said hello." Kamajii sighed a little. He was going to miss them, first Chihiro, and now Haku. "Good luck."

"Thank you Kamajii. Someday Chihiro and I will come to visit you." Haku promised, hoping he wasn't promising something he couldn't keep. Haku turned and left the bathhouse.

The minute he was outside, Haku turned into the white dragon with a green mane, the symbol of the power he was born with, and skimmed along close to the ground. There was no river, and unlike before, when Chihiro left, he could cross the barrier now. Hurrying toward the tunnel, Haku never saw the shadow watching him. Ominously, the shadow raised its' hand and a blinding flash of light shot from its' fingertips at the river dragon. Unconscious, Haku fell to the ground.

TBC…

Wow! My first fanfic, first chapter, and first cliffhanger! Mwahahahahahahah! I feel EVIL! What I said before still goes. I would love to have reviews! Even if you don't like it tell me what I could do better. See ya around!


	2. II

I'm Baaaaacck! I would really feel awful if I left you guys hanging for long. But before the story starts up again, here's a short word from the author.

Red-Rose87- Thank you sooooo much for your kind words. You really got my creative juices flowing again. So consider this chapter dedicated to you, nice person that you are.

Disclaimer: I do not own Spirited Away. Unless I get really rich in the near future and move to the far east, I doubt I ever will. Don't sue, please. I own about 15 books and my cat. You can't have the cat. If you take my cat I will kill you. DON'T TOUCH THE CAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! For the record, I do own Wren and Rose.

Author's note- I'm introducing two new characters in this chapter. They will be traveling with Chihiro throughout the story. No doubt you will be sick of them by the end. Rose (I have two reasons for naming this character Rose, and one of them is you, Red-Rose87) and Wren are works in progress. So be kind to them, they're babies yet.

This whole story is still dedicated to my best friend. I only hope you have as much fun reading this as I do writing it.

On with the show!

Chapter 2: Enter Chihiro and her slightly insane "babysitters" 

Chihiro grinned as she listened to her "babysitters" list the merits of eating pizza every night for a week. At thirteen she didn't really need a babysitter, but since her parents were on vacation for two weeks, they were paying Wren and Rose to make sure she didn't get into any trouble. Of course, with "babysitters" like these, Chihiro would never have to go looking for entertainment.

"It's Cheesy!!" Wren sang out, laughing hysterically.

"And it goes with anything. You can drink soda, vodka, milk. Okay, so maybe not vinegar, but still…" Rose continued.

"MUSHROOMS!!!!!! Yummy, Yummy, Yummy Fungi!"

Chihiro grinned, listening to the two of them. Wren was convinced that fungi were the forgotten food group. She and Rose were twins, both seventeen, but sometimes could act younger than her. Their father was a manager of a huge corporation, and he was promoted and moved to Japan from America when they were six to manage the new branch. Rose and Wren met Chihiro when she was ten and they were fourteen. Wren was Chihiro's babysitter from the get-go, mainly because she seemed the more normal of the two, which was not true. Wren would make up fantastical stories about her cat and some wizard. She was also positive that pixies were after her. Rose told Chihiro later that their psychiatrist said that Wren had such a vivid imagination that she could not tell reality from make believe. There was medication that Wren was supposed to take, but Chihiro had seen her flushing it down the toilet. Chihiro was never worried though. The most violent thing Wren would ever think to do to her would be to chase her around the house with a mushroom.

Rose was definitely different from Wren. Her hair was dyed a rather alarming shade of red, and Chihiro often wondered if she was going for the Guinness Book of World Records for the most piercings. Chihiro thought both girls were pretty, but Wren always thought she was drab in comparison to Rose. "I'm just plain and brown, just like a little wren." She often said. Chihiro felt sorry for both girls, since their parents didn't seem to care about them much. Their dad was disappointed in them all the time. He wanted two perfect dolls to show off at big corporation parties, not a semi-rebel and a girl who thought the government was conspiring against her. Their mom never cared much about them in the first place. She'd ask once a week whether or not they were still breathing, and not really listen to their answer even then. No wonder they wanted to act differently.

"Hey Chihiro! You going to help decide what kind of pizza to order or do you want to sit there daydreaming about Dragon Boy?" Rose called over.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm coming." Chihiro yelled back.

"Fungi!" Wren shouted happily.

Chihiro grinned as she walked over toward them. Rose and Wren were the only people she ever told about her adventures in the Spirit World. Neither of them told anyone else, and both said they believed her. Which in Wren's case may not be a good thing.

After much debating with the pizza place, finally convincing them to do their pizza in thirds, they ordered a large 1/3 mushroom and sausage (for Wren), 1/3 meat lovers (for Chihiro), and 1/3 pepperoni (for Rose). After dinner (Wren did chase Chihiro around the house trying to get her to eat a mushroom), the three girls were at a loss as to what to do. They had pretty much exhausted the meager array of fun things to do, and Wren refused to let Rose take Chihiro to a club. As the girls were sorting through ideas, Wren's cat, Snickerdoodle, walked into the room. Snickerdoodle was a huge black cat who would not look out of place sitting on an alter in some Egyptian temple. He walked up to Wren and rubbed against her leg, then walked to the door.

"Look, Snickerdoodle wants to go for a walk, don't you sweetie?" Wren said, looking at the cat the same way Chihiro had seen Yubaba looking at Bou. It was a little freaky. "Come on, guys! Let's go for a walk."

"Uhg. How 'bout not." Rose replied. "It looks like it's about to storm."

"So? Water is good for you. Besides, Snickerdoodle wants to go for a walk."

Chihiro knew this would be the winning argument. Wren always won when the cat's desires came into play. 'Oh well, I can always wear a raincoat,' She thought to herself.

Once everyone was outside, it started to drizzle.

"Can we go in now?" Rose asked.

"Snickerdoodle! Get back here!" Wren yelled, ignoring Rose. She raced after the runaway cat. Rose and Chihiro shared glances, then ran after Wren. Snickerdoodle ran out of the yard, down the street, and into the forest bordering the suburb, Wren hot on his tail.

'Wait!' Chihiro thought, "He's leading us down the same road that dad got lost on three years ago. The one that leads to the Spirit World! But there's nothing there, I went down this road hundreds of times and I never find the tunnel.'

Still, now there was something at the end of the road. It seemed like a small cliff, overgrown with moss and vines. Here Snickerdoodle stopped and waited for them to catch up.

"Damn! What a stupid cat!" Rose panted, out of breath.

"He is not!" Wren gasped back.

Chihiro felt like her legs were going to give out at any second. As the wind blew the now pouring rain into her face, she started to lean up against the cliff side. Rose and Wren turned when she let out a short scream as she fell through…

TBC…

Well? What do you think? I'd like a little feedback here people! By the way, it's not an accident that Chihiro is thirteen in this while in chapter 1 only 6 months have past. All will be reveled in time…

And I'm begging here. Plz, plz, plz, plz, plz, plz, plz, plz, plz review. Just tell me what you think.


	3. III

You may be wondering why I update so regularly. Well, you see, there's this thing called school. They let you use computers if you say it is for homework. I tell people this is English. They don't really care anyway. Life is good, updating is better...

Disclaimer: I don't need to go through this again, do I?

The Sneak- Thanks! I was really worried that it wouldn't be any good. I'll work on the editing stuff. Good-luck on your stories too!

Haku's girl- You are soooooo nice! I'm sorry the chapters are so short, I'll work on that. I'll try to make it up to you by updating regularly. Please keep reviewing, I'd like to know what you think.

Red-Rose87- You reviewed again! Hee hee! sings and dances while skipping around the room

Already three people have reviewed! I'm happy. Happy happy happy happy happy happy…

Chapter 3- Through the Tunnel 

"Oomph!" Chihiro's gasp echoed. Echoed? Chihiro looked around cautiously.

"Whoa! Neat tunnel" Said Rose as she stepped through the curtain of vines that hid it from the rest of the world.

"Chihiro! You alright?" Wren asked, following Rose through.

"Yeah, I'm okay. I'll probably just have a huge bruise in the morning." Chihiro answered, gingerly getting up. 'Ooo, that will be sore.' Chihiro thought as she stretched. Looking around she realized it was the tunnel that led to the Spirit World. 'It must have been here all along, I just never went down the road far enough.'

"We should probably go back." Wren said. She disliked dark places, always had since she was little.

"It's pouring outside! I'm not going back out into that, crazy girl!" Rose glared at Wren, though Chihiro could tell she wasn't really angry.

"You know, I'm almost certain this is the tunnel that leads to the Spirit World." Chihiro approached the subject tentatively, not certain how it would be received. "We could go through?"

"You know, going home is starting to sound better." Rose commented. "I'm not sure if I'm ready to go to the loony bin with you two little crazies. Maybe another day."

"Let's go down it!" Wren said at the same time, excited.

"But you hate the dark!" Rose said, examining Wren closely. "Are you sure you're my sister?"

"Yup!"

'Well,' Chihiro thought, 'This is going nowhere.' But she didn't say anything, letting the other two argue it out as she looked around. Part of her still didn't believe it was the same passageway she had went through three years ago. 'Why didn't Kohaku come?' Years of correcting herself had trained her to think and talk about Kohaku using his true name. 'If it was this easy all along, why isn't he already here?' But maybe she was being unfair, Chihiro reminded herself. Maybe he still couldn't get away from Yubaba, or maybe time was different in the Spirit World. 'Or maybe,' a dark part of her mind whispered 'he's glad to be rid of you.' Chihiro winced. Of all the possibilities, that one scared her the most. Chihiro's thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the twins nearing the end of their fight.

"Fine! Chihiro and I will just go on without you!" Wren said, finally losing her temper.

"No, I'm coming with you. You'd probably lead Chihiro off a cliff thinking you can fly, crazy girl!"

Chihiro sighed. She hated it when they brought her into the argument. "Let's just go home." She broke in, halting the disagreement.

"But you want to see your dragon boy again, don't you?" Rose asked, confused.

"I'm sorry we were fighting. I'll shut up now." Wren said, contrite.

"Yeah, we were just running our mouths off for the hell of it. Come on, girl! Don't let us crazies get you down."

Chihiro looked down the tunnel, then grabbed the two older girls' hands and started her journey back to the Spirit World.

The three blinked in the dusty sunlight. Although it was evening back home, light from the setting sun still filtered through the train station windows.

"I will never doubt you again, Chihiro. This friggin' place is real!" Rose said, awed. "Or I've gone insane."

"You know, Frigg is a Norse Goddess." Wren said, blowing the conversation to a whole different planet with her usual ease.

"Really? Goddess of what?"

"Childbirth, I think."

"Jeeze, no wonder it's a swearword now."

Chihiro shook her head slightly. Here they were in the Spirit World, and her friends were discussing Norse religion.

"So if you think the Spirit World exists, does this mean you'll believe me when I tell you about Alfred now?" Alfred was the wizard Wren insisted stole Snickerdoodle once.

"I said I was a believer, I never said I was gullible." Rose answered, peering around in the fading light. "Hey, should we start exploring while we can still see or what?"

"Yes!" Chihiro said excitedly. Finally they were getting somewhere! Wren just pouted and refused to look at Rose. Walking out of the train station, Chihiro led them through the winding streets lined with restaurants. The sun was setting fast, and already the ghostly, shadow-like spirits were appearing. The bridge to the bathhouse was unguarded, for no guests were arriving yet. Chihiro, Rose, and Wren quickly made their way across the bridge, and Chihiro opened the little door to the garden. It was difficult, for she was already disappearing, as were Rose and Wren. Chihiro started to get worried. What if they couldn't find food in time? And if they did, would they be able to swallow it? Chihiro remembered that the more you disappear, the more difficult it was to swallow things.

But Kamajii would help! Chihiro was sure of that. Hastily Chihiro took them down the steps to the boiler room. It wasn't easy, the step that Chihiro had broken when she was ten wasn't fixed, and to top it all off Rose was afraid of heights. Wren had to coax her down step by step as Chihiro waited uneasily at the bottom. After what seemed like an eternity, everyone was safely in the boiler room.

"Eeh, who's there?" Kamajii turned around. "Chihiro! Come to visit your old grandfather?"

Chihiro giggled at the joke. When she had first come, Kamajii had told everyone that she was his granddaughter. "Yes! I've made it back!" Chihiro said happily. "But my friends and I need some food! Will you help us, please?"

Kamajii grinned and handed each of the girls a piece of shrimp. When everyone was back to normal, Wren and Rose introduced themselves. Chihiro was impressed that they were so polite and acted like meeting a six-armed man was an everyday occurrence for them. Suddenly, the door to the rest of the bathhouse opened and Rin entered.

"Kamajii, did your soot-balls develop voices? I thought I heard-Sen!" Rin shouted, finally spotting Chihiro. "Where'd you come from?!? Not that I'm not happy to see you, klutz." Rin added as an afterthought. She looked at Chihiro. 'She really hasn't changed that much.' Rin thought. 'Sure she got a little taller, but not much. Her hair is longer now, and she's just starting to look like a pre-adolescent.'

Chihiro explained how she got to the bathhouse again and introduced Rose and Wren. Finally Chihiro got to ask the question that had been bugging her for three years.

"Rin, where's Kohaku? He promised he'd see me again." Chihiro didn't see the worried look Rin and Kamajii exchanged. "It's been three years here too, right? Does Kohaku still work here?"

"Sen, I mean, Chihiro," Rin said carefully. "It's been three years here too. Haku left almost two and a half years ago. He wanted to find you. We never heard from him since. I thought by now he would have-" Rin broke off, not sure how to continue.

"He was so anxious to be free so he could see you again." Kamajii stated for Rin. "Something must have happened to him."

Chihiro felt emotions descend on her. Worry, that was the main one. Worry that Kohaku was hurt somewhere, worry that she was too late and had waited too long. Guilt, too, that she hadn't tried harder to get here before. She felt guilty that one little part of her seemed relieved that he hadn't forgotten her, that maybe he loved her after all. Wren speaking to her snapped her out of her misery.

"Chihiro? Chihiro, can you think of anyone who Haku might have gone to? Someone who might know which way he decided to leave the Spirit World, cause there must be more than one way."

Chihiro felt relief sweep away all the rest of her feelings. Zeniba would help her! She might, no, must know what happened to Kohaku. Quickly she told everyone her idea. Both Rose and Wren approved, feeling that neither of them could leave Chihiro on her own.

"We'll have to walk to Swamp Bottom. We can follow the train tracks, but it will take a couple days, I think." Chihiro explained when Rose asked how they would get there.

"No, you'll take the train." Rin interrupted, surprising them all. She held up a small piece of gold. "Haku gave this to me before he left. He wanted me to buy my contract back and get out of here. I couldn't bring myself to do it, not without seeing you again to tell you where to find me. I was sure Haku would bring you back to visit sometime. Guess I'm not psychic. I don't really need this, but you do. I'll just go buy the tickets for you." Rin left after feeding the soot-balls.

In next to no time Rin was back. Chihiro, Rose, and Wren said goodbye to Rin and Kamajii, and were on their way again. Sitting on the train, Chihiro felt a wave of exhaustion wash over her, but she couldn't sleep. Turning to Wren, she asked, "Will you tell me a story? The one where you meet Alfred."

Rose grinned and laid her head on Wren's shoulder as Wren started. "Well, once upon a time there was a funny place called high school. And in this high school was a funny class called Algebra…"

TBC…

Finally done with this chapter! Only took one day too! Plz R&R. Also, I'm sorry for some of the language. I had no idea Rose was such a potty mouth. Rose proceeds to give author the finger And I don't know what the building was at the other end of the tunnel, so I just said it was a train station. If I'm wrong, I'm very sorry. See ya later!


	4. IIII

¡Los pixies homicidal me están persiguiendo!  
  
Amazing that I'm failing Spanish, isn't it? Then again, that might be because I write this during said class. Sad, isn't it, how little a life I have... Well, after a short delay I am back! Better and cornier than ever, maybe because I've been eating too many Fritos. Before I start, I'd like to thank the people that reviewed. (Hee hee, nice people)  
  
Mizura Volphen- Why would I not like your review? You pointed out some very interesting stuff I need to work on. I must have been a little out of it to not notice that Rin gets up without ever falling down. Or maybe I assumed that people would figure it out. Since you are the only person to point out that mistake, maybe it's not that confusing. Or maybe there are a lot of people scratching their heads wondering why Rin was scooting alone the hallway on her butt. (boy, that's a lot of maybes) And I should go back and add more description to the shadow. Thank you for the helpful words for that! I'm glad you like Yubaba and the spelling of Rin. And yes, exhaustion would be a better word. Please forgive, I was tiredness when I wrote most of these chapters. I'll work on the Chihiro/Sen thing too. I don't really think Wren is schizophrenic. *watches Wren hold a conversation with herself* Then again, maybe you're right.  
I hate it when the author bumps into the middle of the story to tell you something too. I promise never to do that, and if I do you have my permission to hunt me down and kill me. I hope you like later chapters in this fanfic, although (yes, it's true) this is not the most original of plots. Please keep reviewing. Even if it's just to tell me why you don't like it. *sniffs, and eyes well up*  
  
Red-Rose87- Yep, it is hard to turn pages on a computer. I've tried it many times, but to no avail. Don't let that damper your reading enjoyment, though. That's what the aliens want...  
  
KonekOniko- I didn't WANT Rose to be a potty mouth! Honestly! She just does it on her own! *tries to fend off mob of potty mouth haters* No! Nooooooo! (I'm trying to work on the speling thyn. Butt I condn't spel mi wae oute of a elefant...)  
  
Accalia3- I'm glad you think this is funny. So does my Great- Grandma. But she is nearly a hundred, doesn't know where she is, and keeps trying to feed me her peas. Hmmm, the universe is trying to tell me something. (Rose: "Psst! It's telling you not to quite your day job and become a comedian.")  
I'm glad you like Wren, cause I do too. She's my favorite out of all my multiple personalities. (oops, did I say that aloud?) What I like is the close relationship Wren and Rose have. *watches as Rose attempts to beat the shit out of Wren* It's really quite, *Wren grabs a butcher knife and tries to gut her red-haired companion* er, touching.  
  
Pyro-Panda- Yes, yes! I'll keep updating! I promise! HERE! *shoves computer in Pyro-Panda's face* READ! READ IT! *Rose and Wren exchange looks* Rose: "Why are we working for you again?"  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own Spirited Away. I do own Haku. I keep him in my closet as my sex toy. (Okay, so not really)  
  
Thank you for allowing the author this time to get rid of some of the looniness that resides inside of her. I'll write the story now, how 'bout that.  
  
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Chapter 4: Zeniba's house and the swamps of insanity  
  
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Chihiro listened as Wren told her story. It was about how Wren was sucked into an alternate dimension during algebra class where a purple hawk told her to travel to a great wizard's house in order to get her cat back. So that's what Wren did, coming across a lonely dragon with allergies, a lost baby griffin, and a swamp thing that had trouble remembering his own password. Finally, Wren made it to the wizard's house and was, as she put it, "Ready to kick that wizards butt for stealing my cat!" But the wizard (his name was Alfred) turned out to be a pretty nice guy, and he was more than happy to return Snickerdoodle. Of course, Snickerdoodle had torn up some pretty important manuscripts in said wizards office. Wren learned that Alfred had made a bet with a sorceress to see if someone from the human world could complete quests better than a native of that dimension. Wren got her cat back and Alfred got a new crystal ball, so everyone was happy, except maybe the sorceress who lost the bet.  
"And that's how I met Alfred." Wren finished, yawning loudly. Their long day was catching up with all of them.  
"Thanks Wren." Chihiro said, scrunching up closer to her for warmth. It was night again, and they were still traveling by train. Although judging by the scenery they would be reaching Swamp Bottom any time now.  
"You shouldn't encourage her." Said Rose in a mock whisper. Wren frowned. "It happened. I don't care what you think." She said, even though Chihiro knew that Rose's opinion meant everything to Wren.  
"Wren! It didn't happen! Deep down you know that, you little crazy."  
"It did happen! I have the amulet Alfred gave me to visit him as proof!"  
Chihiro glanced at the necklace that Wren never took off. It was only a little bronze disk with a dragon on one side and a castle on the other. But it wasn't like her hair-band was that special either, Chihiro remembered. Just because something was plain didn't mean it wasn't magical.  
"Oh yeah? Then why haven't you gone to visit Alfred before?" Rose asked, her voice taunting. Chihiro knew that when Rose was tired she wasn't the nicest person, but she was really upsetting Wren. Chihiro opened her mouth to interrupt when Wren suddenly burst into tears.  
"It...it doesn't work!" She sobbed. Rose finally realized that she'd gone too far.  
"I'm sorry Wren." Rose said, trying to comfort her twin. "I'll never diss one of your Alfred stories again. I promise."  
"I believe you, Wren." Chihiro put in. Inwardly she sighed. As much as she loved her two friends they could be worse than a soap opera.  
When the train pulled in to Swamp Bottom, Chihiro and Rose had gotten Wren to pull herself together, although she still wasn't speaking to Rose. After they walked a little ways down the dirt path, Chihiro stopped.  
"There should be a guide now to show us the way to Zeniba's house." Chihiro explained when Rose asked why. Sure enough, Chihiro soon saw a familiar bobbing light and heard an annoying squeaking sound. The foot lantern came into view, bouncing along.  
"Well, I've never seen that before." Wren commented.  
"It's a foot! A freakin' foot!" Rose practically yelled at the same time. Chihiro grinned. She had been waiting all day to see Rose's reaction to the foot lantern.  
"Come on!" She called, already following the bouncy foot. "It'll light our way!"  
Thanks to the foot lantern they made it to Zeniba's house in record time, although Rose swore a tree tried to attack her.  
"That's cause I sicced it on you." Wren said acidly. She still had not forgiven Rose.  
"Great! Now she thinks she controls trees." Rose commented offhandedly to Chihiro.  
As the door of the house opened and Zeniba's voice called "Come in dears! Don't stand there letting in the cold air!" Chihiro reflected on how much she hated being caught in the middle of this sibling lovefest. Snickerdoodle pranced in first, anxious to get to the warmth of a fire. (Despite the protests that Rose and Chihiro made, Wren insisted on smuggling the cat aboard the train instead of leaving him at the boiler room where Kamajii would have looked after him.) The three girls followed him, and the door closed behind them.  
"Granny!" Chihiro shouted, running over to hug Zeniba.  
"You make grandparents in the strangest places." Said Rose, walking over to greet Zeniba too.  
Wren's attention, however, was directed at the other end of the room where a man Chihiro had never seen before was sitting on a chair near the fire.  
"Alfred!" Wren virtually screamed, the most excited Chihiro had ever seen her. She rushed over to hug the man she called Alfred, who seemed just as happy to see her in return.  
"Alfred?" Chihiro looked at Zeniba for an explanation. Rose just stood there with her mouth open wide enough to catch flies.  
"Yes, dear, Alfred. He used to be a pupil of mine before he decided to apprentice himself to a wizard. Too bad, really. He would have made such a good sorcerer." Zeniba answered, a mischievous twinkle in her eyes. "You didn't think she was making it all up, did you?" She addressed Rose.  
"Um, well, yes I did." Rose replied, looking Zeniba straight in the eye. Chihiro couldn't help but be impressed with how Rose always admitted when she was wrong. "You were the sorceress whom Alfred made the bet with, aren't you?"  
"Yes I was. I'm still a little miffed at that. It was my best crystal ball, you know."  
"Then why did her necklace thing never work?" Rose demanded almost rudely.  
"There must not have been enough magic where you live to make it work. I told Alfred he should have just taught her a portal spell."  
Eventually Wren and Alfred were caught up, and Rose apologized to Wren. Then Zeniba sat them all down and fed them while Chihiro asked her if she had any idea of what might have become of Kohaku. The explanation Zeniba had wasn't pretty.  
"My dear, I'm not entirely sure where Kohaku is. All I know is from time to time powerful spirits with magic at their disposal go missing. Over the past three years this has happened more frequently, and the spirits that go missing are always powerful magic users. I asked Alfred to come here, hoping that together we could scry and discover who was doing this. We saw different things, which is extremely rare. I saw a dark shadow seeking out young spirits who's power is still plentiful. Alfred saw the Swamps of Insanity, a place where few people come out. And those that do come out are insane, of course, hence the name. Oh, thank you, No Face." Zeniba ended as No Face poured her another cup of tea. Alfred chose to continue where Zeniba left off. Chihiro took advantage of this to study Wren's longtime friend. Alfred was tall, around six feet, and had messy dark blond hair. His eyes were usually far away, and he seemed extremely absentminded until you talked to him and discovered how very intelligent he was. Chihiro thought he was in his mid to late twenties, and probably would have continued examining him if Wren hadn't kicked her from under the table.  
"I believe that a spirit or demon has discovered a way to drain magic from another and add it to its' own power." Alfred said, grabbing the attention of the three girls. "What it is planning to use this power for I don't know. But if we find where this shadow is keeping its' victims and manage to free them, it will be a step in the right direction."  
"So Kohaku is probably alright?" Chihiro asked excitedly.  
"Well, he could be. It depends on how fast the shadow drains him. It takes time for magic to regenerate itself. If the shadow took it all at once, Kohaku could very well be dead." Alfred looked at Chihiro apologetically while saying this. Chihiro felt her will harden. She had to get Kohaku out of there!  
"I don't think Wren should go with you." Zeniba said quietly, surprising everyone. "We know this shadow targets young people with magic. They don't have to be spirits, or even half spirit. I've sensed a small bit of magic in you." Zeniba addressed to Wren. "I think being here in the Spirit World brought it out."  
"I don't care if I can conjure pink elephants from thin air!" Said Wren, outraged. "I started this adventure with Chihiro and my sister and no one can cut me out now!"  
"It's just a tiny bit." Said Alfred to Zeniba. "The shadow probably won't even notice it. I could even train her if your worried about her losing control."  
"You make me sound like a dog that needs to be potty trained." Groused Wren. Rose sniggered under her breath as Alfred shot Wren an apologetic grin.  
"Fine, don't listen to me." Zeniba said, looking exasperated. "Do you at least want me to keep the cat so he won't get in the way?"  
"Nope! Snickerdoodle goes wherever I go!" Sang Wren, happy again.  
After a good night's sleep at Zeniba's house, Chihiro felt like she could take on the world, or at least the Swamps of Insanity. Alfred in the lead, the four (five, actually, if you count the cat) started their journey.  
"So, Alfred, why do you live in the Spirit World? You are human, aren't you?" Rose asked as they reached the border of the Swamps of Insanity.  
"Well, I'm half human, half spirit. I could live in whichever world I wanted, human or spirit. I do travel between the two a lot..." Alfred continued to tell the girls funny stories of his childhood as they passed through the fringes of the swamp.  
"Rose?" Chihiro asked after a while, when Alfred was examining his map.  
"Yeah?" Rose answered.  
"Do you really think we'll go insane in here? And how will we know when we do?"  
"Well, the way I see it, we have Wren. Probably the best buffer against insanity is an insane person. Don't worry about it."  
"Um, where's Alfred?" Wren asked.  
  
~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~  
  
The plot is now pea soup. Maybe you shouldn't review this chapter, even I think it's pretty bad. I hope the next one is better... Wren: "You mean you're going to let me write it?" Author: "No, you twit!" Wren: "OK. Everyone, don't bother to read the next chapter, it's going to suck!" Author: "HEY!" *chases Wren around screaming like a banshee* "I'll *pant* update *pant* soon." 


	5. V

Well, I'm back. I can't tell you how bad I feel about leaving this fic so long. I could give you some really good excuses as to why I left you guys hanging after promising to update regularly. For example, I could tell you my cat peed on the keyboard, or a close relative of mine was electrocuted while working on a computer causing me to go through extensive therapy before touching one again. But I like you guys, so I'll be honest and give you all my wimpy (but true) excuses.  
  
My mother found out why my grades were dropping. (Think back to the many references I made about doing this instead of my homework)  
  
2. I actually got something resembling a social life. It only took me two years, and I have a friend! (In case your parents ever decide to uproot you, make sure they move to a heavily populated area. It's much easier to make friends. And yes, I'm speaking from experience. Towns with a population of 1,500 and about 5 last names are not a good place to start over;-)  
  
3. I went to Kansas City for my Aunt's graduation. She got her masters in Business Administration. You will probably never read this, but I'm proud of you!  
  
4. The MTC (the place where they keep all the computers in my school) was closed for weeks on end, and my mother wouldn't let me use the internet on account of a new virus going around. The woman is paranoid, I tell you.  
  
5. I left my bedroom door unlocked and Rose and Wren escaped. Idiots... After all that I've done for them, and this is how they repay me. Well, if you guys see them anywhere, please contact me. And some advice: If Wren is talking to herself, don't answer her. And NEVER make any comments about Rose's hair. Ex: "Is your head on fire?"  
  
Why, you may ask, with all these pressing issues, are you writing now? Well, children, to put it plainly, this is a hell of a lot more fun than working on my English project or studying for Algebra II. It is amazing I've gotten even this far in high school. Frankly, I think they put up with me because of my ACT score. I got 27 and I didn't even study. Now my guidance councilor is all over trying to get me interested in something. I told him I want to join the mob. And so, I will conclude my long winded (Lettered? Writtened?) speech by thanking you nice people for putting up with me.  
  
KonekOniko- Hey, I thrive off of weirdness. I'm glad you like cats too. I based Snickerdoodle on my own cat, Swartz. I worship him, and in return he makes sure I don't fail school. Would you be interested in joining a cult I just made up based on the worship of cats and caffeine? Please keep reviewing!  
  
Jessica R- Frosted Flakes, hmmm? Well, to each her own... I don't want Chihiro to go back either. But I'm not sure how I could work in her being part spirit. I'll try, but don't be mad at me if the story goes and does its own thing. And I go to Seymour High School, aka the Death Pit of Hell. Keep reviewing please! I love feedback!  
  
Boo- And might I advise you to work on your punctuation?  
  
Red-rose87- You're still with me! I love you... Thank you, thank you, thank you. You're the best.  
  
Pyro-Panda- Opps. offers tissue I guess I got a little carried away. You know, I'd hook you up with Rose, but she's run away like I said before. And I'd feel sorry about it because you seem like such a nice person and Rose is a bit of a brat. If you review again though, I'll talk to her and see what she says.  
  
OK, that seem to cover that. On with the story!  
  
----------------------------  
  
Chapter 5- In Which the Author Forgets to Take her Medication...  
  
----------------------------  
  
"Alfred?" Chihiro call tentatively. But only frogs croaked in return.  
"Great. Just peachy. And he had the map too" Rose gripped.  
"Rose! What if he's hurt! We have to find him!" Wren said, semihystarical.  
Chihiro stared. She'd never seen Wren quite this upset before, even when Rose was teasing her unmercifully. 'Wow, she must really like Alfred. She's always told me before that guys are dumb.' Chihiro thought to herself. She looked around, hoping to see some evidence of where Alfred might have gone. The path that lead them through the muck of the swamp seemed to branch off into a least ten little paths further up ahead, so that was no help. And why would anyone go back where they came from? Chihiro sighed. Rose was right, without the map they were well and truly stuck.  
"Why would anyone want Alfred anyway?" Rose continued, ignoring Wren. "Ok, he's alright, but he's definitely not the cutest guy I've seen. And he has a negative sense of direction as well."  
  
Suddenly, smelly, black smoke billowed up from the ground, causing Snickerdoodle to claw his way up a tree and the three girls to cough violently.  
"I cough am your hack worst nightmare!" The hooded and cloaked man who appeared in the middle of the smoke proclaimed. It would have been more impressive if he hadn't sounded like he was going to keel over at any second. And it might've help if he was face them, but the smoke seemed to have confused him a bit.  
"ehh?"  
Chihiro had to admit that Wren could be less than articulate at times.  
"I am cough choke your worst nightmare!" The man said again, finally facing them.  
'Well,' Chihiro thought, 'this could get old pretty quick.' So she decided to put in her own two cent's worth.  
"Umm, why?"  
"Because...Uh, because..."  
"Let us know when you decide." Rose said sweetly. "I'm voting we run like hell back to Zeniba's house." She whispered to the others. "Who's with me?"  
"You can't say words like hell!" Chihiro whispered back, scandalized. "Look at the rating! There could be little kids reading this!" Chihiro clapped her hands over her mouth. "Why did I just say that?"  
Rose turned to Wren and hissed: "Some buffer you are!"  
"Hey, it's not my fault your theories have more holes in them than your ears!"  
  
Finally the cloaked man seemed to have gotten his act together.  
"I am your worst nightmare because soon I will rule this puny spirit world and your own human one. No one can stop me, for I can draw upon the magical power of hundreds!" The man pontificated, drawing himself up proudly.  
"What's pontificated?" Rose asked, looking confused.  
"I didn't say pontificated."  
"I know, but I still don't know what it is."  
"I don't make these words up, damn it! Even if I did do you think I would use pontificated? I don't even know what it means. Take it up with her!" He pointed toward a girl, who for some reason went unnoticed up to know, leaning against a tree writing furiously on a notepad. She lifted her head and the girls were startled to see the word AUTHOR tattooed on her forehead.  
"Could you slow it down a bit?" The unknown author girl said. "I'm having a hard time keeping up." She pointed to the notepad and smiled as if saying 'isn't it silly'.  
"I think I know why it's called the Swamps of Insanity." Rose muttered. Wren chose this moment to stare at the sky cross-eyed and giggling. Snickerdoodle rolled his eyes as much as a cat can as he watched them from his perch in the tree. He knew it would probably get worse before it got better, so with usual cat finesse he went to sleep to wait it out.  
  
Suddenly, more smoke billowed out of the ground. As everyone was hacking trying to clear their lungs, a woman stepped out of the smoke.  
"You!" She screeched, pointing at the unknown author girl. "YOU ARE GROUNDED! WHAT are you DOING on the COMPUTER! I told you to clean your room!"  
Chihiro, Wren, and Rose watched in confused amazement as the girl screamed bloody murder, then turned to the cloaked man and yelled "You imbecile! You're suppose to summon a monster to try and drive them away!" She pointed to the three girls.  
"Well, I summoned a monster at least." The man muttered under his breath.  
"LOLLIPOPS!" Wren screamed at the top of her lungs.  
"CLEAN YOUR ROOM!" The woman screamed back.  
  
Chihiro could only watch in amazement at the spectacle before her, while Rose was doubled up, tears of laughter streaming down her face.  
  
"That's it. I quit." The man yelled in frustration before disappearing.  
"YOU CAN'T QUIT! I HAVE YOUR CONTRACT! I HAVE THE POWER. YOU ALL BELONG TO ME!" The girl shrieked.  
"THAT'S IT YOUNG LADY! YOU ARE GETTING THERAPY!" The woman screamed, her voice if possible getting even higher.  
"LOLLIPOPS!"  
"Ok, we get it! Shut up!" Rose yelled to Wren.  
"No, you idiot! Look!" Wren pointed toward the sky.  
Chihiro and Rose glanced up to see...Winged lollipops with teeth flying toward them.  
"Run!" Chihiro yelled, not bothering to wonder what lollipops were doing with wings, let alone teeth. Not caring where they were going, the friends chose a path a random and ran down it. With their recent luck, Chihiro wondered why she bothered to be surprised when the ground opened up beneath them and they fell.  
  
TBC...  
  
----------  
  
Well, if you absolutely hate this chapter, I didn't write it. It was one of my other personalities that took over. I'm sorry this chapter was so short. I promise to update more.  
  
Disclaimer: As soon as I finish assassinating the lawyers, I will own Spirited Away. Die you fools!  
  
AUTHOR'S BIG, HUGE NOTE: I may not update in a while, the reason being that I will be in New York. Yes, I realize there are computers in New York, I simply doubt my ability to get away from my keepers long enough to find one. I will start writing when I get back!  
  
PLEASE REVIEW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 


	6. VI

Ohhhh boy. Well, I feel horrible. Here I keep promising to update regularly and then I go and let real life intervene. I hope you're not all too mad at me. Or that you believe I must have uped and MOVED to New York. (is uped a word?)

Anyway, because I feel bad I will work really hard to get this story done without making you wait too long.

Rose: Liar.

Wren: Why do you get their hopes up?

OK, so maybe I'm setting up an unrealistic goal for myself, but hey, when there are long, dragged out months between updates you can comfort yourself by knowing that somewhere I'm sitting wondering if I should turn on the computer.

KonekOniko- I waved to you when I was in New York! Actually, since I have no idea what you look like, nor gender, age, ect, I wasn't sure. So I went around waving to different people. They kept giving me funny looks... 

----------------------------------------Chapter 6-Wren Rhymes----------------------

Snickerdoodle opened his eyes slowly and yawned as only a cat waking up from a catnap in a tree in the middle of the swamps of insanity can yawn. Although few are fluent in cat body language it would be obvious to even the densest dolt that this was the yawn of a cat much put upon. And they would be right. At the moment Snickerdoodle was lamenting to himself that his two favorite pets seemed to have wandered off again.

"I don't know why I take them to play with that Chihiro chit." He grumbled to himself. "She's nothing but trouble. Things were so much easier when I only had to worry about them eating too much junk food at that idiotic day care their parents used to take them to."

Snickerdoodle jumped out of the tree gracefully, an effect that was ruined by the fact that he landed in a puddle of sticky mud. Sniffing with disdain and wondering why he even bothered, Snickerdoodle proceeded to clean himself off. Cleanliness was on the top 5 cat priorities after all. Finishing quickly, he set off along one of the many trails that meandered through the cattails, yowling all the while about disobedient pets.

Chihiro couldn't help but groan. They were trapped underground, in a tiny cell with walls that seemed to be made out of shadow. Perhaps even worse, Chihiro mused, was that her cell mates were Wren and Rose, and they were fighting again.

"Lollipops! You idiot! You got use trapped here!" Rose yelled, completely forgetting the rather ominous nature of said lollipops.

"But they were going to EAT us!"

Chihiro sat back to watch. If they were going to be here a while, she might as well get comfortable. Now, more than ever, she wished she had thought to bring earplugs.

Wren sat in a corner and fumed. Rose was just unfair! Those lollipops were dangerous, and Wren knew it!

'Lollipops?' Alfred asked.

"WHAT! Who said that?" Wren jumped to her feet.

Chihiro and Rose just stared at her, identical looks of confusion on their faces.

"Umm, said what?" Chihiro asked tentatively. She furiously tried to think back and remember when Wren last took her medication.

"Said lollipops!"

"That was you, a while back, before we ended up in here, remember?" Rose answered in a tone one used to talk to small children. Chihiro did notice, though, that Rose looked more than a bit worried. That did not bode well.

'Good grief, hush. The rest of them can't hear me, only you.' Alfred said.

Wren looked around the room carefully, but if Alfred was nowhere to be seen.

"Where are you?" Wren asked, ignoring Chihiro and Rose for the moment.

'Do you have say and think things at the same time? It creates an awful echo you know.'

'Huh?'

'Look, I'm able to communicate to you only because you have just a tiny bit of magic that makes you receptive to such things. The others can't hear me. An effective sorcerer has captured me. An idiot, certainly, but he knows what he's doing. I'm being held in a hall with the others, I think Kohaku is here. Don't know, really. Everyone's unconscious, so I can't ask, can I. Thankfully I'm a wizard so he'll have some trouble getting magic from me. I'm rambling again aren't I...'

'Backup! You know, it would be helpful if you could be more specific 'cause "I'm in a hall" isn't going to do diddley squat in helping us find you. And what does being a wizard have to do with anything?'

'OK, back to basics. Wizards operate solely on the magic inside of themselves, while sorcerers get their power from nature and the elements. Therefore, while sorcerers are more powerful, some major problems are that occasionally their magic controls them or they find themselves powerless in a place with little magic. A good example of that would be your world. This sorcerer, as far as I can tell, has been trapping young sorcerers here for a while. I believe he is doing this to be able to tap into nature power through them, seeing as how a person can only channel so much power at a time, but a powerful person is capable of keeping a large reservoir of power in them. Naturally using a person like that is punishable, since if you do it constantly or try to channel too much power you could kill them. Wizards are a bit more immune to such treatment because a person's power is their own and won't answer to another. As to where I am, I can only tell you what I know. I'm in a hall.'

Wren looked around again. What Alfred had told her made sense, she supposed. Now all she had to do was inform Chihiro and Rose. Well, start with the good news.

"Guys, Alfred told me he's seen Kohaku." Wren waited. Humm, was uncomfortable silence a good thing?

"Wren. Alfred. Is. Not . Here." Rose stated.

"I know, he's talking to me in my head."

"Right...Now, if this voice in your head starts telling you to hurt people, don't do it." Rose said, wondering why on earth she had to be the almost normal sister. "Don't worry Wren, we'll get you help real soon."

Chihiro almost laughed. The high, hysterical kind. This was a little much for a 13 year old to go through after all.

'Alfred, what do I do?' Wren thought, starting to lose her temper. Rose was taking this annoying sister thing a littler far.

'Lets get you out of the cell first. When you only have a little magic rhyming is the most effective. Here in the spirit world you'll get interesting results. Experiment a little.'

"OK. Well, we don't know what to do about the shadow guy." Wren thought out loud. "I'll just try to find out more." Turning to a wall and ignoring Chihiro and Roses' mystified expression, Wren tried to think of a rhyme.

"well, bell, fell, smell... why am I rhyming ell words? Maybe something a bit traditional... Shadow, shadow, on the wall, show me how the mighty fall."

"It's a wall MADE of shadow you imbecile, not a shadow on a wall. And why the hell are you rhyming!" Rose yelled.

"Shhh!" Chihiro said, still looking at the wall as it started to sparkle. "I think Wren is on to something."

The three girls watched as the sparkles cleared up and the wall showed them...Julius Caesar tripping and falling flat on his face.

"Maybe I should have been more specific." Wren said

"I don't even want to know." Rose just shook her head.

"Wren, could you maybe rhyme us out of here?" Chihiro was the first to ask the blindingly obvious.

"Well, I could try." Wren answered, still trying to think of a rhyme for 'idiotic shadow dude'. "Hitchcock, hollyhocks, bed rocks, open locks."

One wall of the cell opened to reveal a darkened hallway light at intervals with torches.

"That was the strangest rhyme I've ever heard!" Rose griped, not about to let Wren forget who was the saner sister.

"Well, it worked, so lets get going." Chihiro stopped what could have been a lengthy argument. Maybe she was only tired, but she really wished she could close the two of them back up in the cell.

Once in the hallway they saw the strangest thing. The walls were lined with people! Spirits and humans held above the floor by ropes of shadow. It looked nothing less than a bizarre spider web.

"Kohaku!" Chihiro ran to one of the limp figures and attempted to tear the ropes holding him. Wren and Rose shared a glance. They had finally found him after all!

"Wren, can't you think of a rhyme to get Kohaku down?" Chihiro asked, worried for her old friend. They've traveled so far to find him that she couldn't give up because of some strange rope!

"Kay, let me think...Ropes long and thick like snot, now quickly unknot!"

"Gross!" Was Rose's only comment.

Chihiro tried to lower Kohaku to the ground, but instead only managed to break his fall. He was still unconscious, Chihiro noticed, worrying. She didn't know what to do to help him.

The "idiotic shadow dude" as Wren now thought, choose to make his appearance at this moment. Emerging in a suitably impressive cloud of black smoke he coughed

"Fools! hack hack I will slay you all!"

And with that he let loose a fireball straight at Chihiro and Kohaku.

Do you guys hate me or what! Please review as reviews are my entire social life. OK, maybe not that extreme, but close! Take pity on me and review!


	7. VII

This chapter is dedicated to my cousin, Stephanie, who died in a car crash exactly one week before her 14th birthday.

----------------------

Chapter 7: In which Snickerdoodle saves the day 

Chihiro barely had time to react, but her brain seemed to shift gears in ultimate fast forward. She couldn't drag Kohaku to safety, he was too heavy. She couldn't leave him, even though every atom in her body was screaming at her to run. So she threw herself across Kohaku, hoping that with the little protection her body might provide at least one of them might survive.

Rose felt like she was moving through sludge. The moment the cloaked man made a threatening move she was running toward him, swearing under her breath, intent on kicking the arse of the man who threatened her friends.

Suddenly, Wren was holding her back, and her nose barely missed being singed by the rebounding fireball.

"What the hell?"

Wordlessly Wren pointed to in the direction of Kohaku and Chihiro. There, in front of the them, looking fuzzed out and very offended, was Snickerdoodle.

"Aww, what pretty, smart, sweet little kitty!" Wren cooed, hurrying over to pick him up.

Chihiro lifted her head, trying to figure out what was going on. Was this some weird, death-induced hallucination?

"Wha… What's going on?" Chihiro finally asked.

"Well, um, actually… I'm not sure." Rose replied, sounding a little dazed "I think Snickerdoodle somehow reflected the fireball."

Chihiro looked around. Sure enough, Wren was holding Snickerdoodle and talking to him under her breath. Chihiro shuddered just a little at the thought of holding this seemingly common household pet after that little feat. 'Be nice' Chihiro reprimanded herself. 'He did just save Kohaku's and your lives.'

All around the little group the darkness started melting away, revealing underneath a set of damp, but ordinary, caves. Spirits that had been trapped started stumbling away, dazed. Some of the more lucid ones helped carry the unconscious away. Alfred came up, leaning against the wall, looking very tired. He grinned at them all, then knelt down to check on Kohaku.

"He will be OK, right?" Chihiro asked, worried.

"Of course." Answered Alfred reassuringly. "He's just a little stunned. He'll come around soon. But we really should get back to Zeniba's house in case I'm wrong."

"Finally!" Rose said. "Swamps of Insanity really aren't my forte, ya know?"

"Will they have the wedding now, Mom?"

"Shush stupid! Let Auntie tell the story!"

"Both of you hush or I'll send you to bed!"

A-O-T-C: "What was THAT???"

Wren: "That was Lark."

A-O-T-C: "Who?"

Wren: "You'll see next chapter."

Disclaimer: I've heard that these things don't really count for anything and that I could get sued anyway. Makes me wonder why I bother… Happy sueing, everybody!

A very short Author's Note: So very sorry this chapter is so short, but I'm running out of time to write. Please review.


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